The U.S. did not recognize responsibility for the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict

The US authorities have refused to recognize that US President Joe Biden 's authorization for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike the Russian territory with ATACMS missiles could have caused the escalation of the conflict. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on November 21.

"Every step of escalation comes from Russia. They are the ones who are escalating this," she said, broadcast on the White House YouTube channel.

Jean-Pierre emphasized that neither the US nor Ukraine, in her opinion, are responsible for the escalation.

Earlier, on November 19, the Russian military shot down five ATACMS missiles launched by the AFU in the Bryansk region and damaged another one. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it a signal that the West wants to escalate the conflict.

Before that, on November 17, The New York Times reported that Biden allegedly allowed Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia. The White House did not confirm this fact officially.

Russian Kremlin presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the Biden administration wants the conflict in Ukraine to continue, and the strikes by the AFU with Western long-range missiles deep into Russian territories are a new escalation.

In his turn, a military expert, retired US Armed Forces Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis said that Kiev would lose the conflict with the Russian Federation even with the authorization for ATACMS strikes. In the expert's opinion, Biden's attempt at a "gambit" on Ukraine may come to a head for the United States itself, which risks a direct clash with the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Shapovalov, director of the Institute of Politics, Law and Social Development, in a conversation with Izvestia, expressed the opinion that expanding the use of Western weapons is the way to escalation. He also emphasized the skill of the Russian military, which shot down the AFU's ATACMS missiles in the Bryansk Region.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to defend Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct it was made by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.